In the funny-money economics of the new NBA, Gorgui Dieng's four-year, $64 million contract extension really isn't a lot of money.
In the real world that Dieng inhabits, the one in which his hometown in Senegal can't even get basic necessities for its hospital, $64 million can, and will, have an incredible impact.
"It doesn't matter how much you make but what can you do with it," Dieng said Tuesday, one day after signing the contract to keep him with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the long haul. "I'm sure a lot of people make more money than I did before and they didn't do the right thing with it. I always wanted to help and I'm going to keep helping. I'm going to do the best I can to my ability to make peoples' lives better."
Working hand-in-hand with Matter, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding health care throughout the world, and Roger and Nancy McCabe of the Timberwolves Fastbreak Foundation, Dieng has put together a three-phase "Gorgui Project" to deliver equipment and tools for the hospital and agriculture in Kebemer. Dieng has helped ship massive containers back home with X-ray machines, beds, rototillers and even a tractor to help those he left when he came to the United States to pursue a basketball career.
So while other big men like Utah's Rudy Gobert and Oklahoma City's Steven Adams signed extensions for four years and at least $100 million, Dieng wasn't interested in squeezing every last dollar he could out of the Timberwolves. Had he declined the offer and become a free agent next summer, he likely would have commanded a contract of at least $80 million. But in his four years in Minnesota, Dieng has found a home, and he made it clear he wanted to stay.
"I want to be here. I didn't want to be here I wouldn't have bought a house this summer," he said. "Everybody knew it. I wanted to be here. I don't like moving around back and forth. I like here. I like the organization. Great people. They help you. It's an easy task for me being here."
In the real world that Dieng inhabits, the one in which his hometown in Senegal can't even get basic necessities for its hospital, $64 million can, and will, have an incredible impact.
"It doesn't matter how much you make but what can you do with it," Dieng said Tuesday, one day after signing the contract to keep him with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the long haul. "I'm sure a lot of people make more money than I did before and they didn't do the right thing with it. I always wanted to help and I'm going to keep helping. I'm going to do the best I can to my ability to make peoples' lives better."
Working hand-in-hand with Matter, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding health care throughout the world, and Roger and Nancy McCabe of the Timberwolves Fastbreak Foundation, Dieng has put together a three-phase "Gorgui Project" to deliver equipment and tools for the hospital and agriculture in Kebemer. Dieng has helped ship massive containers back home with X-ray machines, beds, rototillers and even a tractor to help those he left when he came to the United States to pursue a basketball career.
So while other big men like Utah's Rudy Gobert and Oklahoma City's Steven Adams signed extensions for four years and at least $100 million, Dieng wasn't interested in squeezing every last dollar he could out of the Timberwolves. Had he declined the offer and become a free agent next summer, he likely would have commanded a contract of at least $80 million. But in his four years in Minnesota, Dieng has found a home, and he made it clear he wanted to stay.
"I want to be here. I didn't want to be here I wouldn't have bought a house this summer," he said. "Everybody knew it. I wanted to be here. I don't like moving around back and forth. I like here. I like the organization. Great people. They help you. It's an easy task for me being here."
